The present invention relates to power hand tools and, more particularly, to an assembly for supporting the extended operation of power hand tools.
The use of power hand tools inherently requires the operator to be within arms' length of the working surface. As a result, power tools adapted to be used at the ground level, such as using a grinder to cut or clean expansion joints in the concrete coatings and concrete polishing industries, inherently require the operator to be bent or hunched over during operation.
The prior art does include accessories for supporting power tools, thereby extending the arms' length of the user. However, such extension accessories aim at solving this on-going problem by placing a clumsy piece of equipment between the operator and the work surface. For instance, current extension accessories provide only rigid mounting and thereby lack the control and certainty available to the operators using the power tools by hand. This is particularly relevant to the abovementioned exemplary use of a grinder following an expansion joint precisely, wherein current extension accessories rigidly hold an angle grinder, while balanced on multiple wheels, both of which unnecessarily limits the operable agility. Thereby current extension accessories provide a cumbersome experience, lacking any feel and control, which is critical to the ability of following curved contours and paths, such as curved expansion joints.
As can be seen, there is a need for an assembly for supporting the extended operation of power hand tools that, in effect, enables the extension of the operator's arm with nothing coming between the user and the work surface, thereby not only eliminating the need to be bent over but also enabling a one-handed walk along experience of the mounted hand power tool. For example, the present invention enables the mounting of most common angle grinders, for cutting or cleaning out expansion joints, with control and comfort. The present invention embodies a forearm supporting, baton style handle for control and comfort, while the weight is supported and balanced on a depth adjusting single wheel. By supporting the weight of the power hand tool on a single wheel, and through the use of a baton style handle, the present invention is able to bank both right and left with just the twist of the operator's wrist, enabling endless work paths and contours to be followed. The present invention also provides height adjustment functionality.